AN: Alright, so I'm really bad at this whole updating frequently thing, but I'm back now!
Yes, I did change the description for this because I didn't think the one I had before was doing it any favors (sorry for any confusion).
I love this episode and I've been working on this for a long time, but it just never seemed right. I'm still not real jazzed about the ending. I wanted to get it finished and up though, so oh well. This one's a lot more about the lead up than most of the other chapters, but I hope you guys like it.
Please review and tell me what you think. Also if you have any episode suggestions send me those too. I've got some ideas, but help is always welcome.
He was making that face. That absolutely adorable "I figured it out, I can't believe I actually figured it out. I'm so excited!" face. This was not going to end well.
"You care to do some digging, Detective?"
Kate wanted so much to say no. To just go home and not spend hours in a cemetery digging up a treasure that may not even be real, just because Castle wanted to do it. But that damn face. He wasn't even being arrogant about solving the clues; he was just so fucking excited about it. And although it would be entertaining to watch him pout if she told him no, if she said yes he'd smile just so and get even more excited.
Sometimes he was too damn cute for his own good.
Oh what the hell. She didn't need sleep, right?
Kate smiled just a little. She couldn't deny the fact that finding hidden treasure would be fun. And she needed a distraction right now. Castle took the smile to mean agreement, and she watched as he spun around to grab his coat, almost falling in the process. For a brief moment she wondered just how bad of an idea this was, because very little good could come of it.
This was the worst idea she had ever had.
Not only had they been out here, in the dark, for over an hour, but now Castle was starting to complain.
"You know, Castle, this was your idea. I thought you were all excited to find buried treasure and play Indiana Jones for a night. No treasure hunter just stumbles millions of dollars walking down the sidewalk. If you didn't want to do the work, why did you even suggest it?"
"Oh come on, Beckett. This was supposed to be easy. These guys weren't geniuses. How could I have guessed that he'd bury the diamonds four feet deep?"
"So now that he's made your hunting difficult, he's not a genius? That wasn't the impression you were giving when you deduced your way to this grave."
"No, he was never a genius. He got caught didn't he? I'll grant that he was clever enough to hide the diamonds before getting arrested, but a clever plan does not a genius make."
"Yeah sure, whatever. You know you could have it all wrong; maybe there's no treasure after all."
"If you aren't going to say something helpful, I think it's best not to speak at all. Save energy for more digging."
Kate smiled as Castle turned his back and resumed his digging in earnest. Usually that comment would warrant a twisted ear, or at least a slap to the arm, but not tonight. Tonight she was just grateful not to have to go home to her empty apartment and stew.
Maybe that was why she decided to be honest with him.
"I lied, you know." She said it quietly, but the cemetery was silent, so she knew he'd hear.
He didn't stop digging, but she saw his muscles tense and his back straighten.
"Royce he-"
"You don't have to talk about this. It's fine. I don't need to know." He still wasn't looking at her, giving her an out. She didn't have to tell him, but now she wanted to.
"He used to look at me..." the way you do. She somehow left the last part unspoken, though the way he sighed made her wonder if he didn't hear it anyway.
"Royce made you feel like a person again, instead of just a story." He leaned his forehead on the end of his shovel. Even though he was still facing away from her, it felt as if he was staring her right in the face. The same way it had felt when he'd told her she was damaged, but not that damaged.
"You were still a wreck, broken, but every once in a while he'd look at you just so. And then it wouldn't matter for a second. You didn't forget; you never forget. But for that moment your pain was secondary; as long as he was looking at you like that, it didn't have to rule your life. When he looked at you, he didn't see the pain and the anger. Maybe all he saw was a naive and over-eager rookie who was going to get herself killed, but at least he looked past the nineteen year old girl who's mother was murdered.
"You fell in love with him because when he looked at you, sometimes your heart would flutter. And it felt like it had been so long since your heart had felt anything but aching sadness. You wanted to feel something, even if it was misguided and inappropriate. The fact that it was unrequited made it even more appealing, because unrequited love hurts, but at least it's not the torture of losing your mother. Even in your ultra-focused mission to find justice, a part of you wanted to be able to define yourself by something, anything else. The rookie who fell in love with her C.O., as bad it was, was a better definition than grieving daughter. So you fell in love with him."
Kate watched in shock as Castle went back to digging. She wanted to feel outraged, that he could even begin to understand what she was going through back then. She wanted him to be wrong. The truth of the matter was that as much as she wanted him to be wrong, he wasn't. He wasn't necessarily right either, but he definitely wasn't wrong.
She looked down at her shovel and blinked slowly. There would be no tears. Not now. As she resumed her own digging, she half expected to instantly hit something hard. That's how it always happens in the movies right? Two people have a heartfelt moment and then immediately find what they're looking for. Sadly, all she found was a lot more dirt.
Half an hour later, she was still finding dirt, and neither of them had said a word since Castle's little speech. It wasn't as if Kate was embarrassed or she didn't know what to say to him. She had plenty to say, to try and explain, but she just couldn't find the words. She'd read more books in her lifetime than she could count, but still she couldn't string a few sentences together to tell Castle thank you. He understood her better than anyone; he always had. That truth terrified her, so why did she feel so comforted by it?
"Uh, Beckett?" His voice broke through the stifling silence before Kate heard his shovel clunking against something hard.
"Please tell me that's not a coffin." That would be exactly what she needed right now.
"You can either be glib, or come help me unearth millions in buried treasure." Castle turned to look at her with a huge grin on his face. There was no way Kate could deny the flutter of excitement that ran through her, but she didn't have to decide why.
Instead of dwelling on it, she went over to help him. It was a tight squeeze, since their hole wasn't really that big. Castle went at it like he was an eight year old who'd gone on a real Goonies adventure. Which, she thought with a smile she didn't let him see, he kind of had.
"It's gorgeous!" Kate rolled her eyes.
"Castle, it's just the box. We haven't even opened it yet."
"Well yeah, but look at it." He thrust his hand at the dirty box. "It's full of untapped potential. There could be anything inside."
"I thought Stuckey said it was jewels." She was arguing with him because she could, and it felt good to have the familiar banter with him after everything that had happened.
"Of course it's jewels!" Castle's voice went up an octave and his hands flew to his hair the way they always did when he was exasperated with her. It was cute.
"Yes, Stuckey told us it was jewels. But we don't know it was jewels. Right now it could be anything. Don't you find that exciting?"
Kate raised her eyebrow at him and instead of answering, she picked up her shovel, broke the lock on the box, and opened the lid before straightening to stand beside him again.
"Whoa." It was the only thing either of them said for a good thirty seconds as they stared at the boxful of sapphires and rubies.
Then Kate turned and grabbed his shirtsleeve, a smile she just couldn't contain spreading across her face. Castle's eyes slowly moved to meet hers, shock written all over his features.
"We, we did it." He glanced to the box and back as his words gave way to a disbelieving laugh, and Kate couldn't help but join in.
And then she acted on another decidedly not so smart idea. She hugged him, hard. Her arms wrapped around him and squeezed him to her. Pressing her cheek against his chest, she could feel as his entire body froze. She wondered what he was thinking.
But then his arms slowly wound their way around her too and she felt them tighten. She'd hugged him on instinct, out of excitement. The way he was hugging her now, and not letting go, was completely different. It was comforting and protective.
And she didn't let go. They just stood there, holding on to each other for who knows how long. Because she didn't care that they were both very sweaty, that they were completely ignoring the treasure chest they'd just found, or that she'd just arrested Royce. None of that mattered.
All that mattered was Castle.
The thought hit her right in the gut.
"I'm sorry you had to do your job today." His words were soft and sincere. Suddenly she felt like crying again. It wasn't about Royce anymore, not really. It was more about the fact that Castle understood her, despite all the effort she'd gone through to make that feat impossible.
And damn it, this felt good. Hugging him felt good. He felt good. He felt right.
With a monumental effort, Kate pulled her head from Castle's chest and looked up at him. She could feel every millimeter of her body that was currently in contact with his. From the look in his eyes, so could he.
"Thank you." It was all she could think to say. Again, he'd left her with a mind full of words that she couldn't articulate. She wanted to say so much more, but the words wouldn't line themselves into sentences.
And honestly, all she could think was how much she wanted him.
Kate leaned in and pressed her lips to his briefly before pulling back again. His eyes had clouded, a mix of disbelief and reserve pooling behind obvious surprise.
"Kate, is this-"
"If you ask me if this is about Royce I'm going to shoot you." She wanted to grab at his ear, just to reinforce the statement, but her hands were too happy where they were, snaking up his chest towards his neck.
"Well, we already dug my grave, so at least it'll be convenient for you." He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at her. For a second she weighed the merits of smacking, but ultimately decided she'd much rather just kiss the cocky smile off his face.
This time she was not careful or gentle; she dove at him because whether or not this was the right time or place, he was right. The rest was irrelevant.
She pressed her hips more firmly into his as his mouth opened against hers. Twisting her hands in his hair, she let herself live in this moment. The heartache of the day melted away as his fingers dipped under shirt, scorching the flesh of her back.
Moaning softly as his tongue twisted with hers, Kate gave herself over to the sensation. She didn't want to feel anything but him.
Sadly, her lungs did not agree with the rest of her body, and persisted in demanding oxygen. When she pulled away, she stared at Castle, trying once again to convey gratitude she had no words to express. Instead, she said the first coherent sentence her brain supplied her.
"You know we have to give the jewels back, right?"
For a second he just stood there, but then he stuck his lip out in a toddler-worthy pout before pulling her close again.
"C'mon, couldn't we just keep it for a few days first?"
Kate rolled her eyes at him.
"No," she stated firmly. Then she leaned in and lightly brushed her lips across his earlobe. "But I'll make it up to you."
AN2: So, that was a bit shorter than I had originally thought it would be, but what can you do? Please review and send me your suggestions! Hopefully I'll be able to wrangle myself into writing some more over the next couple weeks and have another up for you guys soon.
If you're following Moments, I'll definitely have more this week, and it's 11:59 on Sunday so I did get it in over the weekend :)